


Lychee's Adventures

by Ferretina



Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: Hurt/Comfort, Light Angst, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Zuko (Avatar)-centric, Zuko gets a pet, Zuko is an Awkward Turtleduck
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-04-09
Updated: 2020-08-01
Packaged: 2021-03-01 16:47:51
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,615
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23560321
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ferretina/pseuds/Ferretina
Summary: It's the day of Zuko's Agni Kai and he finds a new friend.
Comments: 4
Kudos: 65





	1. Zuko meets Lychee

**Author's Note:**

> Hi! hope you like it. More chapter will be added if people want them :)

Zuko was nervous. It was the day of his first Agni kai and he wasn’t sure what would happen, but he knows he is right. He can’t let them sacrifice those innocent men. He decides to go to his favourite place to settle his nerves. The turtle duck pond.  
\--  
It’s an oddly cold day, grey and cloudy with a harsh breeze. [[Agni knows what is to come and is **displeased** ]] Zuko wonders if it is an omen.  
The turtle ducks recognise him on sight and immediately, greet him looking for treats. He glances around, making sure his sister isn’t lurking nearby. He can’t show weakness in front of his sister or they will **burn**. She isn’t anywhere to be seen, so he kneels down and lets the overeager turtle duck crawl onto his lap. He smiles and feeds them little bits of a bread roll he sneaked from dinner.  
A small movement from the edge of the pond catches his eye. He hears a chirp not coming from the turtle ducks. He gently removes them from his lap and gets up to investigate. It’s a small newt like creature, and when he gets closer it looks at him and chirps pitifully. He picks it up and it snuggles into the warmth of his hand. It’s so small, barely bigger that the length of one of his fingers, with a pale white body and a long tail with tiny scales going down its back. It has little pink frills at its head and small black eyes.  
He decides to call it Lychee for its colouring is very similar to the fruit. “Lychee” he says to it and smiles. It looks at him. It chirps sounding pleased. Before Zuko can react, it crawls up his sleeve so fast it’s just a pale blur. Zuko panics and tries to get it out, but it has dug its tiny little claws into the fabric of his robes, and he receives a tiny nip on his finger for his trouble. Another small chirp comes from his robes, sound both smug and apologetic. Zuko decides Lychee is a she, for its sneaky like his sister but not cruel like her.  
Before he can do anything else a servant calls for him. It’s time for his Agni Kai. He will have to leave Lychee where she is for now.  
\--  
Lychee’s presence doesn’t change anything.  
“And suffering shall be your teacher.”  
Painpainpain.  
Nothing.  
The day gets even darker and colder.  
\--  
Pain. A searing agony. Gentle swaying. So cold. Zuko fades in and out of consciousness. A damp cloth on his head. Tiny feet crawling over his face. Voices. A concerned chirp. Nothing.  
\--  
Eventually Zuko can open his eyes. An eye. All he sees is a small mouth filled with tiny razor teeth. He decides to go back to sleep.  
\--  
Zuko wakes up again, this time to his Uncle looking down at him with a concerned expression. He tries to speak but all that comes out is a faint croak. His Uncle tries to smile but comes out a kind of grimance. He helps Zuko sit up and holds a cup of water to his lips. Zuko slowly drinks and then tries again. “Where are we?” he asks. Uncle just looks at him with a pitying expression. He shakes his head. “Safe. Get some rest Prince Zuko.” He leaves.  
Later a healer explains what happened when bringing lunch. He leaves too. Banished. Alone. A single tear slips down his cheek and he sniffs. He feels a small nudging by his hand and a cheerful chirp. Lychee. He wasn’t as alone as he thought. Lychee chirps again and moves over to the bowl the healer left with a pointed look at Zuko. Oh. Zuko gingerly reached for the bowl. Noodles with a few chunks of meat. He carefully fished one of the chunks of meat out to Lychee. Lychee snaps it up, struggling to chew it with suck small teeth. It brings a smile to Zuko’s face. He tries to put the bowl back, not feeling hungry when Lychee stops trying to eat and gives him an accusing glare (this takes a lot of effort for a creature with two black dots for eyes). Zuko sighs and keeps the bowl, picking up his chopsticks. Lychee is smarter than he thought. She gives a satisfied chirp and goes back to trying to eat her food. Maybe everything will be okay.


	2. Not a Newt-Shark

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A confrontation.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I don't usually do alternating points of view, but I decided that this would be the best way to give some insight into Lychee. Thanks for the kudos and the comments :)

Zuko

Within a week Zuko is back on his feet. He is determined. This is not permanent; he just has to find the Avatar and then he’ll be allowed home. He’ll have proved himself worth of his position and his father will finally listen to him. He’ll be able to help so many people and make sure no one else dies needlessly. His scar twinges at that thought. 

Zuko shouts for Lieutenant Jee. He needs to set a course. From what he has heard from the mutters from the crew when they don’t realise how close he is they are aimlessly sailing at the very edge of the fire nation borders. _It’s odd_ , Zuko thinks, that the crew never seem to see him lurking about. They must just be very unobservant. He’ll be sure to correct that soon enough.  
Zuko shouts (roars) for Jee again, since the man appears to be taking so long. Lychees eyes him dubiously, her head poking over the rim of her dish. A few days ago, Zuko left a mug of water by his bed. Lychee has claimed this as her own.

Eventually there is a nock at the door and it slowly opens. Jee’s face with a very cautious expression is revealed. “Sir?”, he asks quietly.   
“Set a course for the Southern Air Temple.” Zuko gives a small glare for emphasis.  
He waits for Jee to give a sharp nod and for the sound of his footsteps to fade away before leaving his room to go to the mess hall, allowing Lychees to climb into the folds of his clothes as he goes. He walks very carefully to ensure that he won’t bump into the walls (he still can’t see well in his left eye).

Private Nasuh

Private Nasuh is not happy. He had his life all worked out. He was going to become an officer soon after he enrolled in the navy and bring honour to the fire nation. Instead it’s been two years of grunt work and now, instead of getting the recognition he deserves he’s been assigned to babysit a disgraced brat in a ramshackle boat. How dare they assign him to something so beneath him? Can’t they see his potential? His father is a highly decorated officer. 

While Private Nasuh fumes to himself he spots the Brat, strutting down the corridor as if he is so much better than the rest of them. He constantly shouts at them and orders them about. Everyone else seems to obey his orders without question, why should he have to listen to a thirteen-year-old? Private Nasuh hates his smug face. He’ll take him down a peg or two. 

He storms up to the Brat and shoves him against the wall. The Brat doesn’t even seem to he him coming. _He’s so arrogant that he doesn’t even pay attention to his surroundings_ , Private Nasuh thinks. He sees a small head poke out of the brat’s collar. A newt-shark? Of course, a spoiled prince would have such a stupid high maintenance pet.

Private Nasuh sneers, and then yelps in pain. He looks down to see the newt-shark has bitten him where he has grabbed the brat’s clothes.it realises him leaving a surprisingly deep gash in his hand for such a small creature and tilts its head up to stare him in the eye. Its whole face splits open to reveal two rows of razor-sharp needle like teeth. He doesn’t know what that thing is but its not a newt shark. Newt sharks don’t look like they have crawled out of the deepest darkest part of the spirit world. It hisses. Private Nasuh runs.

Lychee

Her human is loud. She looks at him from over the rim of her pool. Very loud. She watches him interact with another human (Not a threat, she has decided). Very fierce. She approves. Once the not-threat has gone, her human comes over and holds his arm out to crawl up. She likes this. Her human is very warm and comfy. She crawls up to his shoulder. She feels big on his shoulder. She sees that her human makes his way to the door. They must be going to the food place! Her human always gives her lots of tasty treats, much better than the insects and small fish she had to eat in the pond. When she gets bigger, she’ll make sure to hunt him down lots and lots of tasty treats too. That should make her human happy, lately he’s been smelling very sad.

When they exit her human’s lair, someone (threat) knocks into her human. _How dare they attack him?_ He is under her protection! She makes her way to where the threat dares to hold onto her human. She sinks her teeth into his flesh. His blood is sweet. The threat makes a sound of pain and looks down at her. She lifts her head and makes eye contact. She smiles at the threat and it runs away. She has successfully protected her human. She is so good at her job!

Jee

Jee bows his head and rubs his temples after he hears the crew’s report of the incident. The small angry child has a small angry pet. Why has Agni cursed him?

**Author's Note:**

> Picture an axolotl with a few scales on its back


End file.
